Holiness

January 8, 2014

Some people think they have God all figured out and have neatly separated Him into a few boxes.

How are Mrs. Melhorn and God alike? Both of them can fit, in part, in a plastic box.

How are Mrs. Melhorn and God different? Mrs. Melhorn could fit entirely in a box that is her size but there is NO box big enough to contain our God. There is way more God than box. How often do we try and make Him fit in that box?

Box 1- The Santa Claus Box- People view God as a Santa Claus who is there to give them everything they need. Does God provide all we need? YES. But is that all He does? Certainly not, because he is bigger than any one idea. He is Holy- unlike anything else we can imagine. He never fits in our box.

January 15

Box 2- The Traffic Light Box- People view God as a traffic light where red means God stops all bad things from coming in their path, and green means that all the good things in life should keep coming their way.

But He does not work that way. Everyone deals with tough times, even kids. He does not say that everything will go your way if you believe in Him. But He does promise that He will always be with you on the path of your life. Doesn’t that sound better than a traffic light?

Isaiah 41:13… I am the Lord God and I will take your right hand and will save you.

January 22

Box 3- The Sports Box- People do not treat God as holy but like a sport they play such as baseball, tennis, soccer or football. Haul it out of a box, play with it awhile and when finished pack it right back in the box. Then, do not give it another thought until you feel like playing again.

Giving God part-time attention is trifling with the bond we have with Him. He wants full-time devotion from us. Our relationship with God is the most important part of our lives and we should be taking it very seriously after all we are His treasured possession.

Deuteronomy 14:2 …and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession…

January 29

Box 4- Flatland Box- “How could God be big enough to fill the universe but small enough to fit in my heart.” asks a third grade girl.

Dr. Shell turned to the book, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott Abbott to illustrate this concept. Flatland was a land of lines. Lines with angles and the more angles one had, the higher one was on the social scale. One day into this “flatland” of lines came a dot. What should they do with the dot? He did not fit in anywhere and he talked about a world that sounded crazy to them, a world with three dimensions. Ultimately they killed him.

The gospel of John says the same thing God came into the world as flesh, talking of another kingdom that most could not understand. His own did not want Him. They could not understand that he could be big enough to be God of the Universe and small enough to live in our hearts.

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” John 1:11